


They're Not Normal and That's Okay

by dwale_die



Category: All For The Game - Nora Sakavic
Genre: Andrew is helpful in his own way, Comfort, Established Relationship, Fluff and Angst, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, M/M, Neil Josten Is an Idiot, Neil Josten Needs a Hug, Sick Neil Josten, Some of the other foxes are mentioned barely
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-06
Updated: 2020-08-06
Packaged: 2021-03-05 22:02:23
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 848
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25742533
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dwale_die/pseuds/dwale_die
Summary: "Tell me your fine."Neil's mother's words are struggling to fight their way to the surface when Neil gets sick. One time he lets them and one time he realizes that it's okay to not be okay.
Relationships: Neil Josten/Andrew Minyard
Comments: 2
Kudos: 85





	They're Not Normal and That's Okay

**Author's Note:**

> There's mention of vomit and references to Neil's mother being violent.

Neil Josten couldn’t have been sick. 

It didn’t matter that he had a temperature of 103. It didn’t matter that his head was pounding inside his skull so loud he could barely hear a thing at practice. Their _second_ practice of the season . He wasn't missing it. He had worked too hard and risked too much to simply bail because of a little cold.

The court was typically a place his mother had strayed far from. Today however her ghost was hovering beside him no matter how swiftly he ran. His subconcious had no problem distinguising this version of his mother from the one he'd buried years ago. The real Mary would have ripped him off the floor with strength a woman her size couldn’t possibly have seemed to possess.

Her words came back to him in pieces, despite his best attempts to shove them away.

_ You’re fine. Tell me you’re fucking fine. _

Suddenly he was eight again. His throat throbbing and a dull pain roaring in his head. Complaing would have only caused his mother’s rage to flury further. He kept quiet, pinched his mouth shut to keep the bile, and his own groan, at bay.

“Neil! What the fuck?” Kevin’s voice stabbed through his thoughts.

_ Neil what the fuck did I tell you?  _ He was supposed to be keeping watch, letting his mother rest while they stayed at some dingy motel. Instead he’d rushed to the bathroom to throw up.

His mother’s hands were anything but kind as she ripped him up from the bathroom floor. Anything but comforting. The bruises she left on pale, sickly skin were downright cruel. Although Neil would never admit this.

The tile underneath him gave out and suddenly the court walls were mixing with the bathroom walls of a dirty motel. Mixing with the car door he flung open in an attempt to keep the floor mats clean. Mixing with a diner bathroom mirror as he stared at Chris’ face and muttered the words _I’m fine_ until he’d never thought he’d be able to say anything else again.

Chirs, Stefan, Nathaniel, _Neil_ pressed a palm to the court wall. “Hey?” This voice was calm, Matt or Wymack he couldn’t be sure. It certainly wasn’t his mother. He half expected Mary to rip him away from this person. He half expected to feel her cold hands sting against his cheek.

He scrambled away. Suddenly there were too many hands, too many people that weren’t who he needed. Neil wasn’t sure what he needed. 

The world tilted sideways into darkness and Neil was out.

* * *

Neil blinked once, twice. He felt a hand tighten on his arm. His mother, warning him the consequences if he attempted to throw himself out of bed and rush to the bathroom.

He pinched his lips shut, attempting to hold back the bile. She must have gotten the hint that this time he wasn’t going to make it because suddenly he was getting lifted, his arm getting tugged around broad shoulders. Not his mother’s shoulders, Neil realized.

“You’re an idiot.” That wasn’t his mother’s voice. Neil never thought he’d be so enamoured to hear those words. He felt nothing but relief as he slumped over the toilet and surrender to the fucking flu.

“I’m sorry.” He shook his head, knowing Andrew would be pissed. “Go back to bed. I'm fine. I’m fine. Fine” Neil squeezed his eyes so tight tears leaked from the corners. He chanted the words like a mantra. A depressing, sick mantra.

“Shut up Junkie.” Neil felt a hand on his forehead and flinched away. He didn’t need to see Andrew’s glare to know it was present.

“I’m sorry. Sorry. It’s yes. You can touch me. It’s yes.” Neil was surprised to feel those hands on him the second time. He was relieved nonetheless.

Andrew smoothed the sweat slicked hair away from Neil’s face and held it against his head as Neil continued to empty the contents of his stomach.

Neil shifted backwards to lean against the wall behind him and Andrew took that as his cue to flush the toilet. 

“C’mon.” Andrew’s voice was quiet. 

_ Soft.  _ Neil thought, enamoured once more.  _ Gentle _ .

“Andrew you really don’t hav-”

“Abram.” Andrew didn’t pause as he continued to haul the striker up from the tile floor. They stumbled to the bottom bunk and only then did Andrew pause. “I don’t do things that I don’t want to do. Yes or no?” 

“Yes.” Neil was yanked, for lack of a better term, into bed beside Andrew and drug closer into an embrace. Neil’s entire body sighed.

“Next time you’re sick. You tell me or coach. Tell fucking Matt, I don’t care.” Andrew’s  hand slid up to rest just under Neil’s shirt. He pressed his words into the skin of Neil’s neck. “You’re not fine. You’re a fucking mess.”

Neil let a soft chuckle flit pass his lips. “You like my mess.” He didn’t hear Andrew’s murmured response against his neck as he tumbled over the edge and into a hazy sleep.

It sounded an awful lot like “Unfortunately.”

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading! Hope you enjoyed!


End file.
